Estimates

This video shows on-site estimates: the questions you answer at the client's home, the layout drawing, photos, the summary and the PDF, and how ECHO drafts a quote from it.

The board

Estimates sits under Sales. Each card shows the client, the kind of estimate, how many questions are answered, the layout, the photos, and the deal. Search, use Filter and sort, or switch between Active, Archived and Everything. Viewers can look, but not change them.

New estimate

Click New estimate. Pick the kind, then the deal it's for, or No deal yet, and click the Start button. You can also start one from a deal's Estimates box, or from the appointment on the Calendar. Starting from a deal brings the client's details along.

Sheets for your trade

The questions fit your trade. A kitchen and bath company gets kitchen and bathroom sheets, and remodelers also get a remodel sheet. Exterior trades get roof, siding, windows and outdoor work. Window treatment companies get rooms, products and measuring.

Answering

The sections run down the left, with a check when each is done. Tap the answers that fit, use plus and minus for counts, and type notes, or tap Dictate. Find a question jumps to any question, or press slash. Answers so far shows what's filled in. It all saves as a draft as you go.

The layout drawing

Kitchen and bathroom estimates add Layout, a drawing to scale: each grid square is twelve inches. Start with a Rectangle room or an L-shaped room, or draw the walls. Then click Add for doors, windows, cabinets, appliances and fixtures. Parts snap to the walls; tap one to change its size.

Layout tools

Measure adds a dimension, Note adds text, and Pen marks it up. Switch to 3D to see the room. Export gives a DXF file for design software, or a picture to text or email. The Summary lists every part by its standard size code.

Photos

Under Photos, click Take a photo, or Add from library, and give each one a caption. Photos go on the estimate's PDF. Videos are kept in the deal's files, when the estimate belongs to a deal.

Summary

Summary shows every answer, section by section, with Edit to jump back and change one, the layout as a plan or in 3D, and the photos.

Save estimate

Click Save estimate when you're done. If there are no photos, ECHOPS asks first. Saving puts it on the deal's timeline and, the first time, moves the deal from New estimate to Awaiting quote. PDF opens the printable copy, and Client edits the name, phone, email and address on it.

Draft a quote with ECHO

On the Summary, click Draft a quote with ECHO. ECHO reads the answers, prices each part from your Price Book, and shows the quote it proposes. Nothing is made until you click Confirm. Then the quote is made as a draft on the deal, ready for the builder, and any line it couldn't price waits at zero for you.

Take photos before you leave the house: they go on the PDF and help whoever builds the quote. Next: Sending and signing quotes.